BSI employees and family members were on hand recently to help clear three separate St. Louis properties in conjunction with Clean Sweep 2018. Sponsored by the St. Louis Regional Business Council and Better Family Life, Clean Sweep is an initiative that brings together residents, volunteers, city government and area construction companies to help clean and renew city neighborhoods.

The program takes place throughout summer and BSI was happy to participate. It was a hot, sticky Saturday - with a heat index of about 105 by noon. Our team of 19 people cleared several properties in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, about a mile north of Grand Center. We cut trees, removed old fences, trimmed weeds and removed trash.

"Our Clean Sweep location was already very special to us, as it is within two blocks of our current jobsite at Missionaries of Charity on N. Spring Avenue," said BSI Vice President and Clean Sweep volunteer, Tim Hudwalker.

In 2017, BSI began construction on a new tilt-up, concrete panel, multi-purpose building that will serve primarily as a food kitchen for the St. Louis congregation of the Missionaries of Charity. "The Missionaries of Charity have set an extraordinary example through their support of this neighborhood, and the new food kitchen will allow them to provide continued service in St. Louis for many years to come," said Project Manager Andy Schwartz.

Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta, founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 in India. The St. Louis congregation serves a daily meal and also provides after school care for children. The new building (which will replace an older facility) will have a kitchen, serving area, chapel, children's daycare, offices, meeting & activity spaces and storage. The project is expected to wrap up later this year.

Schwartz was also on the Clean Sweep team for BSI. "The 'Clean Sweep' was a great opportunity to help a struggling part of our city look a little better for those who call it home," he said. Clean Sweep continues through August. The program seeks to provide a real sense of hope to inner-city residents and to demonstrate what is possible when people come together.